BHUBANESWAR: Odisha continued to maintain high momentum in the collection of GST following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions. The State collected Rs 3,316.55 crore in August as against Rs 2,348.28 crore in the same month last year posting a growth of 41.23%, the second-highest among all major states.
The progressive GST collection till August was Rs 16,977.92 crore. It achieved a growth of 71.69% as Rs 9,888.99 crore was collected during the April-August period last fiscal. The collection was Rs 13,011.04 crore during the corresponding period in 2019-20.
Sources said the SGST collection was Rs 956.47 crore, CGST was Rs 792.93 crore, IGST was Rs 948.21 crore and cess was Rs 618.94 crore in August as compared to Rs 686.15 crore, Rs 538.91 crore, Rs 630.14 crore, and 493.08 crore in August 2020.
The State GST grew by 39.4% and it was the third-highest collection during the current financial year after Rs 1,126 crore collected in April and Rs 1,067 crore in July.
The progressive collection of SGST up to August also saw a growth of 59.08%. The State collected Rs 4,836.75 crore between April and August against the collection of Rs 3040.37 crore during the period last year. It was Rs 3,722.3 crore during the same period in 2019.
The total collection of VAT from petrol and liquor was Rs 885.21 crore in August which was the highest non-GST in a month during the current fiscal. The growth was 46% as the VAT was Rs 606.16 crore in August 2020.
Of the total VAT last month, the collection was Rs 727.95 crore from petroleum products and Rs 157.26 crore from liquor, up by around 289.47%. The VAT from liquor was only Rs 40.37 crore in August last year.
Commissioner of CT and GST Sushil Kumar Lohani attributed the growth in GST collection to the rise in commodity prices of iron and steel as well as tax from the mining sector besides better compliance by dealers.
He has instructed all field officers to facilitate genuine taxpayers and ensure that they are not put to any unnecessary harassment and detect wrong return filers by applying data analytics. All circles have been instructed to ensure at least 90% return filing within the due date, he added.